System and method for second factor authentication

ABSTRACT

As individuals increasingly engage in different types of transactions they face a growing threat from, possibly among other things, identity theft, financial fraud, information misuse, etc. and the serious consequences or repercussions of same. Leveraging the ubiquitous nature of wireless devices and the popularity of (Short Message Service, Multimedia Message Service, etc.) messaging, an infrastructure that enhances the security of the different types of transactions within which a wireless device user may participate through a Second Factor Authentication facility. The infrastructure may optionally leverage the capabilities of a centrally-located Messaging Inter-Carrier Vendor.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/759,243, filed on Feb. 5, 2013, which was a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/398,331 (now U.S. Pat. No.8,380,989), which was filed on Mar. 5, 2009, all of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety. U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/398,331 is related to: U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/347,354, filed Dec. 31, 2008 and entitled “System And MethodFor Message-Based Conversations”, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/347,357,filed Dec. 31, 2008 and entitled “System And Method For EnhancedApplication Server”, which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/347,223, filed Dec.31, 2008 and entitled “System And Method For Mobile UserAuthentication”, each of which is incorporated herein by reference intheir entirety.

BACKGROUND

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to telecommunications services.More particularly, the present invention relates to capabilities thatenhance substantially the value and usefulness of various messagingparadigms including, inter alia, Short Message Service (SMS), MultimediaMessage Service (MMS), etc.

Background of the Invention

As the ‘wireless revolution’ continues to march forward the importanceto a Mobile Subscriber (MS)—for example a user of a Wireless Device (WD)such as a cellular telephone, a BlackBerry, a Palm Pilot, etc. that isserviced by a Wireless Carrier (WC)—of their WD grows substantially.

One consequence of such a growing importance is the resulting ubiquitousnature of WDs—i.e., MSs carry them at almost all times and use them foran ever-increasing range of activities.

Coincident with the expanding presence of WDs has been the explosivegrowth of messaging—a steady annual increase, year over year, in thenumber of (SMS, MMS, etc.) messages that have been exchanged by andbetween WDs. That steady increase shows no sign of abating. For example,as reported by the industry group CTIA (see ctia.org on the World WideWeb [WWW]) in the U.S. there were over 158 billion SMS messages sentduring 2006 (representing a 95% increase over 2005) and there were over2.7 billion MMS messages sent during 2006 (representing a 100% increaseover 2005).

Concurrent with the positive progress that the ‘wireless revolution’ hasenjoyed society has, sadly, suffered significant negative progress.Among other things as individuals increasingly engage in different typesof transactions (such as, possibly inter alia, the facilitation,completion, etc. of a payment element of, for example, an on-linepurchase; an account status [e.g., balance, available credit, etc.]inquiry; a funds or money transfer operation; etc.) over differentchannels or mediums (such as, for example, the WWW, etc.) with differentorganizations (such as, possibly inter alia, utility companies,financial institutions, on-line retailers, etc.) they face a growingthreat from, possibly inter alia, identity theft, financial fraud,information misuse, etc. and the serious consequences or repercussionsof same. For example, a study by Utica College's Center for IdentityManagement and Information Protection (CIMIP) that included among otherthings an extensive review of U.S. Secret Service case files found thatthe median actual dollar loss for identity theft victims was $31,356.

The specific examples that were described above are illustrative onlyand it will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevantart that numerous other examples are easily possible and indeed arefully within the scope of the present invention.

Given (1) the ubiquitous nature of WDs, (2) the popularity of (SMS, MMS,etc.) messaging, and (3) an expanding universe of threats it would bedesirable to leverage WD-based messaging to enhance the security of thedifferent types of transactions within which a MS may participatethrough the innovatory addition of a Second Factor Authentication (SFA)facility.

Aspects of the present invention facilitate such enhanced transactionsecurity in new, creative, and unconventional ways and address variousof the not insubstantial challenges that are associated with same.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment of the present invention there is provided a methodfor enhanced transaction security wherein a request for enhancedsecurity (concerning a transaction between a MS and a Third Party) isreceived and, following a range of processing activities, a SFA token isgenerated, preserved, and dispatched to the MS via a (SMS, MMS, etc.)message.

These and other features of the embodiments of the present invention,along with their attendant advantages, will be more fully appreciatedupon a reading of the following detailed description in conjunction withthe associated drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form partof the specification, depict embodiments of the present invention and,together with the summary that was presented above and the descriptionthat may be found below, further serve to illustrate inter alia theprinciples, structure, and operation of such embodiments. It will bereadily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art thatnumerous variations, modifications, alternative forms, etc. of thedepicted embodiments are easily possible and indeed are within the scopeof the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic presentation of an exemplary MessagingInter-Carrier Vendor (MICV).

FIG. 2 illustrates one particular arrangement that is possible throughaspects of the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates various of the exchanges or interactions that arepossible during an optional registration portion of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 illustrates various of the exchanges or interactions that aresupported by aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic presentation of aspects of an exemplary ServiceProvider (SP) Application Server (AS).

FIG. 6 presents a Java™ programming language code sample that may bepossible under one particular embodiment of aspects of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 depicts an example computer system through which embodiments ofaspects of the present invention may be implemented.

Throughout the drawings (a) like reference numbers generally indicateidentical or functionally similar elements and (b) the left-mostdigit(s) of a reference number generally identify the drawing in whichthe reference number first appears. For example, in FIG. 4 referencenumeral 318 would direct the reader to FIG. 3 for the first appearanceof that element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It should be noted that the embodiments that are described below aremerely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in variousforms. Therefore the details that are disclosed below are not to beinterpreted as limiting but merely as the basis for possibly inter alia(a) teaching one of ordinary skill in the relevant art how to makeand/or use the invention and (b) the claims.

The present invention may leverage the capabilities of acentrally-located, full-featured MICV facility. Reference is made toU.S. Pat. No. 7,154,901 entitled “Intermediary network system and methodfor facilitating message exchange between wireless networks,” and itsassociated continuations, for a description of a MICV, a summary ofvarious of the services/functions/etc. that are performed by a MICV, anda discussion of the numerous advantages that arise from same. U.S. Pat.No. 7,154,901 and its associated continuations are hereby incorporatedby reference in their entirety.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 and reference numeral 100 a MICV 120 isdisposed between, possibly inter alia:

1) Multiple WCs (WC₁ 114, WC₂ 116→WC_(Z) 118) on one side, and

2) Multiple SPs (SP₁ 122→SP_(Z) 124), entities that may possibly interalia provide a range of services/products/etc. to MSs, on the other sideand thus ‘bridges’ all of the connected entities. A MICV 120 thus, asone simple example, may offer various routing, formatting, delivery,value-add, etc. capabilities that provide, possibly inter alia:

1) A WC 114→118 (and, by extension, all of the MSs 102→104, 106→108,110→112 that are serviced by the WC 114→118) with ubiquitous access to abroad universe of SPs 122→124, and

2) A SP 122→124 with ubiquitous access to a broad universe of WCs114→118 (and, by extension, to all of the MSs 102→104, 106→108, 110→112that are serviced by the WCs 114→118).

Generally speaking a MICV may have varying degrees of visibility (e.g.,access, etc.) to the (MS←→MS, MS←→SP, etc.) messaging traffic:

1) A WC may elect to route just their out-of-network messaging trafficto a MICV. Under this approach the MICV would have visibility (e.g.,access, etc.) to just the portion of the WC's messaging traffic that wasdirected to the MICV by the WC.

2) A WC may elect to route all of their messaging traffic to a MICV. TheMICV may, possibly among other things, subsequently return to the WCthat portion of the messaging traffic that belongs to (i.e., that isdestined for a MS of) the WC. Under this approach the MICV would havevisibility (e.g., access, etc.) to all of the WC's messaging traffic.

While the discussion below will include a MICV, it will be readilyapparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art that otherarrangements are equally applicable and indeed are fully within thescope of the present invention.

In the discussion below aspects of the present invention will bedescribed and illustrated as being offered by a SP (i.e., as noted abovean entity that may possibly inter alia provide a range ofservices/products/etc. to MSs). A SP may, for example, be realized as anindependent service bureau, an element of or within some organization(such as possibly inter alia a financial institution, a retailestablishment, an on-line retailer, etc.), an element of a WC or alandline carrier, an element of a MICV, multiple entities (such as forexample those just listed) or aspects of same working together, etc.

In the discussion below reference will be made to messages that aresent, for example, between a MS and a SP. As set forth below, a given‘message’ sent between a MS and a SP may actually comprise a series ofsteps in which the message is received, forwarded, and routed betweendifferent entities, including possibly inter alia a MS, a WC, a MICV,and a SP. Thus, unless otherwise indicated, it will be understood thatreference to a particular message generally includes that particularmessage as conveyed at any stage between an origination source, such asfor example a MS, and an end receiver, such as for example a SR As such,reference to a particular message generally includes a series of relatedcommunications between, for example, a MS and a WC; a WC and a MICV; aMICV and a SP; etc. The series of related communications may, ingeneral, contain substantially the same information, or information maybe added or subtracted in different communications that nevertheless maybe generally referred to as a same message. To aid in clarity, aparticular message, whether undergoing changes or not, is referred to bydifferent reference numbers at different stages between a source and anendpoint of the message.

To better understand the particulars of the present invention considerfor a moment a simple hypothetical example—SP SP_(N) offers a servicethat has been enhanced or augmented as provided through aspects of theinstant invention and Mary, a MS, uses SP_(N)'s service.

FIG. 2 and reference numeral 200 depict one particular arrangement thatmay be possible under our hypothetical example. As indicated, all of themessaging traffic of numerous MSs (MS₁ 102→MS_(a) 104 and MS₁ 110→MS_(c)112, including Mary), serviced by various WCs (WC₁ 114→WC_(Z) 118), isexchanged with a MICV 120 and the MICV 120 is connected with SP_(N) 202(a SP that offers, possibly inter alia, aspects of the presentinvention).

FIG. 3 and reference numeral 300 illustrate various of the exchanges orinteractions that might occur under an optional registration portion ofour hypothetical example. Such a registration process may be tailored(e.g., the range of information gathered, the scope of servicessubsequently offered, etc.) to the class of user—e.g., possibly interalia different types, categories, etc. of users may complete differentregistration processes. Additionally, a registration process may besupported or offered by any combination of one or more entities (e.g., aThird Party [3P] such as a financial institution, a retailestablishment, an on-line retailer, an employer, a utility company,etc.; a SP; etc.). As well, some or all of the information that iscollected during a registration process may be shared or exchangedbetween any combination of one or more entities (e.g., a SP, a 3P,etc.). Thus a MS may complete a (required or optional) registrationprocess with any number of entities and aspects of the information thatis collected during a given registration process may be shared orexchanged between any number of entities, The registration process thatis depicted through FIG. 3 is supported or offered by a SP (specificallyby SP_(N) 202).

Of interest and note in FIG. 3 are the following entities:

MS 302 WD 306. For example, a mobile telephone, BlackBerry, PalmPilot,etc. belonging to Mary 302.

MS 302 Personal Computer (PC) 308. For example, a home, work, etc. PC ofMary 302.

WC 310. The provider of service for a WD 306 of Mary 302.

MICV 120. As noted above the use of a MICV, although not required,provides significant advantages.

SP_(N) 202 Web Server (WS) 314. A publicly-available WWW site that isoptionally provided by SP_(N) 202.

SP_(N) 202 Billing Interface (BI) 316. A single, consolidated interfacethat SP_(N) 202 may use to easily reach, possibly inter alia, one ormore internal and/or external entities such as a credit card or debitcard clearinghouse, a carrier billing system, a service bureau thatprovides access to multiple carrier billing systems, invoicing orbilling facilities, etc.

SP_(N) 202 AS 318. Facilities that provide key elements of the instantinvention (which will be described below).

SP_(N) 202 Gateway (GW) 320. A facility through which SP_(N) 202 mayexchange possibly inter alia (SMS, MMS, etc.) messages with possiblyinter alia a MICV 120.

It is important to note that while in FIG. 3 the MS 302 WD 306 and MS302 PC 308 entities are illustrated as being adjacent or otherwise neareach other, in actual practice the entities may, for example, bephysically located anywhere.

In FIG. 3 the exchanges that are collected under the designation Set 1represent the activities that might take place as Mary 302 completes aregistration process with SP_(N) 202:

A) Mary 302 uses one of her PCs 308 to visit a WS 314 of SP_(N) 202 to,possibly among other things, complete a service registration process(see 322→324).

B) A WS 314 of SP_(N) 202 interacts with an AS 318 of SP_(N) 202 to,possibly among other things, commit some or all of the information thatMary 302 provided to one or more data repositories (e.g., a databases),optionally initiate a billing transaction, etc. (see 326).

C) As appropriate and as required a BI 316 completes a billingtransaction (see 328→330).

D) After receiving a response from an AS 318 of SP_(N) 202 (332) a WS314 of SP_(N) 202 responds appropriately (e.g., with the presentation ofa confirmation message, etc.) (see 334→336).

The specific exchanges that were described above (as residing under thedesignation Set 1) are illustrative only and it will be readily apparentto one of ordinary skill in the relevant art that numerous otherexchanges are easily possible and indeed are fully within the scope ofthe present invention. For example, the collected information may bereviewed, confirmed, etc. through one or more manual and/or automaticmechanisms. For example, the registration process may be completedthrough any combination of one or more channels including, inter alia,the WWW, wireless messaging (SMS, MMS, etc.), Electronic Mail (E-Mail)messages, Instant Messaging (IM), conventional mail, telephone, anInteractive Voice Response (IVR) facility, etc.

During the registration process described above a range of informationmay be captured from a MS including, possibly inter alia:

A) Identifying Information. For example, possibly among other things,name, address, age, landline and wireless Telephone Numbers (TNs),E-Mail addresses, IM names/identifiers, a unique identifier and apassword, etc.

B) Account Information. For example, possibly among other things,various of the particulars for one or more of a MS' accounts (withorganizations such as, possibly inter alia, utility companies, financialinstitutions, on-line retailers, etc.). The particulars may include,possibly inter alia, organization name and contact details, accountnumber, account access credentials, etc.

C) Security Service Information. For example, possibly among otherthings, the selection of one or more of the different security plans,programs, etc. that a SP may optionally offer (each of which may carry,possibly inter alia, some type of fee or charge). Such plans, programs,etc. may provide, possibly inter alia, alerts to a MS (via, for example,SMS, MMS, E-Mail, IM, etc.) based on various events, criteria,thresholds, etc.; additional levels of notification, confirmation, etc.during a transaction; etc,

D) Billing Information. For example, the particulars (such as, possiblyinter alia, name, account/routing/etc. numbers, etc.) for financialinstitution (bank, brokerage, etc.) accounts, credit cards, debit cards,etc. As well, possibly the selection of one or more of the differentservice billing models may be offered by a SP (including, inter alia, afixed one-time charge, a recurring [monthly, etc.] fixed charge, arecurring [monthly, etc.] variable charge, a per-transaction charge,etc.) and possibly the selection of one or more of the different paymentmechanisms that may be offered by a SP (including, possibly among otherthings, credit or debit card information, authorization to place acharge on a MS's phone bill, authorization to deduct funds from a MS'[bank, brokerage, etc.] account, etc.).

The specific pieces of information that were described above areillustrative only and it will be readily apparent to one of ordinaryskill in the relevant art that numerous other pieces of information(e.g., additional Identifying Information, scheduled daily/weekly/etc.reporting desired and/or on-demand reporting desired, etc.) are easilypossible and indeed are fully within the scope of the present invention.

As noted above the information that Mary provided during theregistration process may be preserved in a data repository (e.g., adatabase) and may optionally be organized as a MS Profile.

The content of Mary's profile may be augmented by SP_(N) 202 to include,as just a few examples of the many possibilities, internal and/orexternal demographic, psychographic, sociological, etc. data.

As noted above, a SP's BI may optionally complete a billing transaction.The billing transaction may take any number of forms and may involvedifferent external entities (e.g., a WC's billing system, a carrierbilling system service bureau, a credit or debit card clearinghouse, afinancial institution, etc.). The billing transaction may include, interalia:

1) The appearance of a line item charge on the bill or statement that aMS receives from her WC.

2) The charging of a credit card or the debiting of a debit card.

3) The (electronic, etc.) transfer of funds.

4) The generation of an invoice, statement, etc.

In FIG. 3 the exchanges that are collected under the designation Set 2represent the activities that might take place as SP_(N) 202 optionallycoordinates, etc. with one or more external entities to, possibly amongother things, secure access, exchange and/or confirm collectedinformation, arrange to receive updates, etc. (see 338→340). During suchexchanges SP_(N) 202 may employ any combination of one or more ofpossibly inter alia an Application Programming Interface (API), aninterface layer, an abstraction layer, communication protocols, etc.

The specific exchanges that were described above (as residing under thedesignation Set 2) are illustrative only and it will be readily apparentto one of ordinary skill in the relevant art that numerous otherexchanges (including, inter alia, updates to various of the informationin a MS Profile in a SP's repository, etc.) are easily possible andindeed are fully within the scope of the present invention.

In FIG. 3 the exchanges that are collected under the designation Set 3represent the activities that might take place as an AS 318 of SP_(N)202 dispatches to Mary 302 one or more confirmation E-Mail messages (see342→344).

The specific exchanges that were described above (as residing under thedesignation Set 3) are illustrative only and it will be readily apparentto one of ordinary skill in the relevant art that numerous otherexchanges (including, inter alia, the dispatch of multiple E-mailmessages [i.e., multiple instances of the sequence 342→344], the replyby Mary 302 to a received E-mail message, etc.) are easily possible andindeed are fully within the scope of the present invention.

In FIG. 3 the exchanges that are collected under the designation Set 4represent the activities that might take place as an AS 318 of SP_(N)202 dispatches one or more confirmation SMS, MMS, etc. messages to a WD306 of Mary 302 (346→352) and Mary 302 optionally replies or responds tothe message(s) (354→360). Of interest and note are:

1) In the instant example the messages are shown traversing a MICV 120.

2) SP_(N) 202 may employ a Short Code (SC) or a regular TN as its sourceaddress (and to which it would ask users of its service to direct anyreply messages). While the abbreviated length of a SC (e.g., five digitsfor a SC administered by Neustar under the Common Short Code [CSC]program) incrementally enhances the experience of a MS 302 (e.g., Mary302 need remember and enter only a few digits as the destination addressof a reply message) it also, by definition, constrains the universe ofavailable SCs thereby causing each individual SC to be a limited orscarce resource and raising a number of SC/CSC management, etc. issues.A description of a common (i.e., universal) short code environment maybe found in pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/742,764 entitled“Universal Short Code administration facility.”

The specific exchanges that were described above (as residing under thedesignation Set 4) are illustrative only and it will be readily apparentto one of ordinary skill in the relevant art that numerous otherexchanges are easily possible and indeed are fully within the scope ofthe present invention.

The Set 1, Set 2, Set 3, and Set 4 exchanges that were described aboveare illustrative only and it will be readily apparent to one of ordinaryskill in the relevant art that numerous other exchanges are easilypossible and indeed are fully within the scope of the present invention.For example, possibly inter alia, aspects of the registrationinformation that was described above may subsequently be managed (e.g.,existing information may be edited or removed, new information may beadded, etc.) through any combination of one or more channels including,inter alia, a WWW facility, wireless messaging (SMS, MMS, etc.), E-Mailmessages, 1M exchanges, conventional mail, telephone, IVR facilities,etc. Additionally, aspects of the registration information may beexchanged with one or more entities (such as possibly inter alia a 3Psuch as a financial institution, a retail establishment, an on-lineretailer, an employer, a utility company, etc.; another SP; etc.).

To continue with our hypothetical example . . . as Mary goes about herdaily activities there may arise numerous instances where she engages intransactions and would like to enhance the security of thosetransactions. For example:

1) Mary may wish to determine the balance of one of her (bank,brokerage, credit card, etc.) accounts.

2) Mary may wish to complete the payment portion of a purchase (from,for example, an on-line retailer, etc.).

3) Mary may wish to transfer money between various of her (bank,brokerage, credit card, etc.) accounts, transfer money from one of her(bank, brokerage, credit card, etc.) accounts to someone else, transfermoney to someone else (perhaps another MS) with the amount of thetransfer (along with, for example, charges, fees, etc.) appearing on herWC statement, etc.

The specific examples that were cataloged above are illustrative onlyand it will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevantart that numerous other examples are easily possible and indeed arefully within the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 4 and reference numeral 400 provide a framework within whichexamples, such those cataloged above and others that would be readilyapparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art, may be examinedvis-à-vis aspects of the present invention. The entities that aredepicted in FIG. 4 are the same as were depicted in, and described for,FIG. 3 with one exception:

Third Party (3P) 402. An organization such as, possibly inter alia, afinancial institution, a retail establishment, an on-line retailer, anemployer, a utility company, etc. that may possibly inter alia supporttransactions and which among other things wishes to enhance the securityof those transactions through SFA.

In FIG. 4 the exchanges that are collected under the designation Set 1represent the activities that might take place as Mary 302 employs oneof her PCs 308 to initiate, conduct, conclude, etc. an activity with a3P 402 (see 404→406). During her activity Mary 302 may optionallyinclude information such as access credentials (e.g., useridentification and password).

The specific exchanges that were described above (as residing under thedesignation Set 1) are illustrative only and it will be readily apparentto one of ordinary skill in the relevant art that numerous otherexchanges are easily possible and indeed are fully within the scope ofthe present invention.

In FIG. 4 the exchanges that are collected under the designation Set 2represent the activities that might take place as 3P 402 completes arange of internal processing activities including possibly inter aliavalidating any supplied information (such as for example accesscredentials), determining the need for SFA, etc. During its processingactivities 3P 402 may among other things possibly leverage:

1) One or more repositories containing information about Mary 302 (e.g.,as previously collected during a registration process, as previouslyreceived from one or more external entities, etc.).

2) A body of dynamically updateable configuration information or data(for among other things the different types of supported transactions,minimum SFA strength, etc.).

3) Bodies of flexible, extensible, and dynamically configurable logic orrules (capturing among other things the particulars [when, how, etc.]governing the application of SFA).

In instant example, 3P 402 determines that enhanced security through SFAis appropriate and possibly among other things issues a request for SFAto an AS 318 of SP_(N) 202 (see 408). Such a request may employ amongother things any combination of one or more of possibly inter alia anAPI, an interface layer, an abstraction layer, communication protocols,Extensible Markup Language (XML) documents, etc. and may include amongother things information about Mary 302 (such as for example identifier,access credentials, the address [e.g., TN] of her WD 306, etc.), theparticulars (e.g., strength, etc.) of the desired SFA, etc.

AS 318 of SP_(N) 202 may complete a range of internal processingactivities (which will be described more fully below) to among otherthings generate a SFA token. A SFA token may be of any length; mayconsist of any sequence of characters (e.g., letters, numbers, specialsymbols, etc.); and may be generated randomly, be derived from apredefined algorithm or formula, be generated sequentially from aninternal base value (e.g., monotonically increasing), etc.; may be basedon or otherwise derived from some element of user (e.g., Mary 302)information; etc. As just one possible example, FIG. 6 and referencenumeral 600 present an illustrative Java programming language codesample 602 that supports the generation of a random SFA token ofspecified size.

A generated SFA token may be preserved in one or more repositorieswithin SP_(N) 202 where, possibly inter alia, a SFA token may beassociated with various indicators or identifiers (indicative of forexample Mary 302).

A generated SFA token may be directed to a GW 320 of SP_(N) 202 (see410) where one or more (SMS, MMS, etc.) notification messages,containing possibly inter alia the SFA token, may be dispatched to a WD306 of Mary 302 (see 412→416).

The specific exchanges that were described above (as residing under thedesignation Set 2) are illustrative only and it will be readily apparentto one of ordinary skill in the relevant art that numerous otherexchanges are easily possible and indeed are fully within the scope ofthe present invention. For example, among other things:

1) SP_(N) 202 may obtain the address (e.g., the TN) of the WD 306 ofMary 302 through any number of means including, for example, from 3P 402(as described above during a request for SFA), from one or morerepositories within SP_(N) 202 (possibly leveraging registrationinformation that was provided by Mary 302 and which was supplied toSP_(N) 202 either directly or indirectly), etc.

2) In any dispatched notification messages SP_(N) 202 may employ anynumber of addresses (including, possibly inter alia, a SC, a TN, etc.)to which it would ask users to direct any reply messages.

3) SP_(N) 202 may optionally alert 3P 402 (and/or one or more otherentities) to the generation of a SFA token and the dispatch of one ormore (SMS, MMS, etc.) notification messages.

4) SP_(N) 202 may optionally convey the SFA token to 3P 402 (so thatpossibly inter alia 3P 402 may preserve the SFA token within itsenvironment).

5) A dispatched notification message may optionally contain, possiblyinter alia, descriptive or explanatory text, confirmation information,contact information, a request to call (e.g., a help center) at aparticular TN, etc.

6) Mary 302 may optionally reply to one or more of the received (SMS,MMS, etc.) notification messages. Based on any received replies SP_(N)202 may optionally complete one or more additional processing steps.

In FIG. 4 the exchanges that are collected under the designation Set 3represent the activities that might take place as Mary 302 employs thereceived SFA token. Mary 302 may use any combination of a range ofmanual (e.g., hand or manual entry), wired (e.g., Universal Serial Bus[USB], docking station, adapter, etc.), wireless (e.g., Near FieldCommunication [NFC], InfraRed [IR], Bluetooth, etc.), etc. data transferor data exchange mechanisms to employ (see 418) the SFA token.

The specific exchanges that were described above (as residing under thedesignation Set 3) are illustrative only and it will be readily apparentto one of ordinary skill in the relevant art that numerous otherexchanges are easily possible and indeed are fully within the scope ofthe present invention.

In FIG. 4 the exchanges that are collected under the designation Set 4represent the activities that might take place as Mary 302 employs oneof her PCs 308 to continue, resume, etc. her activity (now augmentedwith the SFA token that she received on her WD 306) with a 3P 402 (sec420→422 with appropriate returns).

The specific exchanges that were described above (as residing under thedesignation Set 4) are illustrative only and it will be readily apparentto one of ordinary skill in the relevant art that numerous otherexchanges are easily possible and indeed are fully within the scope ofthe present invention. For example, the exchange 420→422, withappropriate returns, may be repeated any number of times.

In FIG. 4 the exchanges that are collected under the designation Set 5represent the activities that might take place as 3P 402 optionallycompletes one or more internal processing activities including, possiblyinter alia, querying SP_(N) 202 (see 424) to among other things validatethe SFA token that 3P 402 received from Mary 302. AS 318 of SP_(N) 202may complete a range of internal processing activities (which will bedescribed more fully below) before responding (see 426) to 3P 402 withpossibly inter alia an indication of the validity of the submitted SFAtoken. A query (see 424) and a response (see 426) may among other thingsemploy any combination of one or more of possibly inter alia an API, aninterface layer, an abstraction layer, communication protocols, XMLdocuments, etc.

The specific exchanges that were described above (as residing under thedesignation Set 5) are illustrative only and it will be readily apparentto one of ordinary skill in the relevant art that numerous otherexchanges are easily possible and indeed are fully within the scope ofthe present invention.

In FIG. 4 the exchanges that are collected under the designation Set 6represent the activities that might take place as 3P 402 continues,concludes, etc. the activity with Mary 302 (see 428→430 with appropriatereturns).

The specific exchanges that were described above (as residing under thedesignation Set 6) are illustrative only and it will be readily apparentto one of ordinary skill in the relevant art that numerous otherexchanges are easily possible and indeed are fully within the scope ofthe present invention. For example, the exchange 428→430, withappropriate returns, may be repeated any number of times.

The Set 1, Set 2, Set 3, Set 4, Set 5, and Set 6 exchanges that weredescribed above are illustrative only and it will be readily apparent toone of ordinary skill in the relevant art that numerous other exchangesare easily possible and indeed are fully within the scope of the presentinvention. For example:

1) A MS may optionally need to acknowledge a response message (by, forexample, replying to same) to activate or otherwise confirm a SFA token.Such an acknowledgement may optionally need to occur within a definedperiod of time (after which an unacknowledged SFA token may, possiblyinter alia, go ‘stale’ and not be usable).

2) A SFA token may optionally be designated as being single-use,multi-use, etc.

3) A SFA token may optionally carry a lifetime indicator. Such a valuemay identify a specific period of time (e.g., from a beginning date andtime to an ending date and time) during which a SFA token may be usable;identify a specific number of uses or invocations (e.g., 1) after whicha SFA token may go ‘stale’ and not be usable; identify a cumulativetransaction amount (e.g., in a currency such as dollars) beyond which aSFA token may go ‘stale’ and not be usable; etc.

4) A SP may incorporate additional factors, criteria, tests, etc. duringvarious of its processing activities (e.g., the confirmation,authentication, etc. of a SFA token; etc.) including possibly inter aliaMS Location-Based Service (LBS) and/or Global Positioning System (GPS)information, biometric information, etc.

5) During its different activities an SP may complete any number ofbilling, reporting, etc. transactions.

6) An SP may track a MS' usage, aggregate same, optionally offer (to theMS, to external entities such as a 3P, etc.) discounts, rebates,surcharges, etc. based on the tracked usage, etc.

7) During its processing steps an AS may employ any combination of anumber of automated (e.g., through software solutions) and/or manual(e.g., through human intervention) actions, techniques, capabilities,etc. and each of the techniques, strategies, capabilities, etc. thatwere described above may have associated with it, possibly inter alia,an optional set of weighting, scoring, confidence, etc. factors that maybe used, either individually or together, to develop results.

The catalog of processing steps, activities, etc. that was describedabove is illustrative only and it will be readily apparent to one ofordinary skill in the relevant art that numerous other processing steps,activities, etc. are easily possible and indeed are fully within thescope of the present invention.

The confirmation, response, etc. message(s) that were described abovemay optionally contain an informational element—e.g., a relevant orapplicable factoid, etc. The informational element may be selectedstatically (e.g., all generated messages are injected with the sameinformational text), randomly (e.g., a generated message is injectedwith informational text that is randomly selected from a pool ofavailable informational text), or location-based (i.e., a generatedmessage is injected with informational text that is selected from a poolof available informational text based on the current physical locationof the recipient of the message as derived from, as one example, a LBS.GPS, etc. facility).

The confirmation, response, etc. message(s) that were identified abovemay optionally contain advertising—e.g., textual material if an SMSmodel is being utilized, or multimedia (images of brand logos, sound,video snippets, etc.) material if an MMS model is being utilized. Theadvertising material may be selected statically (e.g., all generatedmessages are injected with the same advertising material), randomly(e.g., a generated message is injected with advertising material that israndomly selected from a pool of available material), or location-based(i.e., a generated message is injected with advertising material that isselected from a pool of available material based on the current physicallocation of the recipient of the message as derived from, as oneexample, a LBS, GPS, etc. facility).

The confirmation, response, etc. message(s) that were identified abovemay optionally contain promotional materials (e.g., still images, videoclips, etc.).

FIG. 5 and reference numeral 500 provides a diagrammatic presentation ofaspects of an exemplary SP AS 318. The illustrated AS 318 containsseveral key components—Gateways (GW₁ 508→GW_(a) 510 in the diagram),Incoming Queues (IQ₁ 512→IQ_(b) 514 in the diagram), WorkFlows(WorkFlow₁ 516→WorkFlow_(d) 518 in the diagram), Database 520, OutgoingQueues (OQ₁ 522→OQ_(c) 524 in the diagram), and an Administrator 526. Itwill be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant artthat numerous other components are possible within an AS 318.

A dynamically updateable set of one or more Gateways (GW₁ 508→GW_(a) 510in the diagram) handle incoming (SMS/MMS/etc. messaging, etc.) traffic504→506 and outgoing (SMS/MMS/etc. messaging, etc.) traffic 504→506. AGW may support the receipt of incoming traffic 504→506 and the dispatchof outgoing traffic 504→506 via any combination of one or more of theavailable public and/or proprietary messaging paradigms includingpossibly inter alia Short Message Peer-to-Peer (SMPP), ComputerInterface to Message Distribution (CIMD), External Machine Interface(EMI)/Universal Computer Protocol (UCP), Signaling System Seven (SS7)Mobile Application Part (MAP), MM4, MM7, etc.

Incoming traffic 504→506 is accepted and deposited on an intermediate ortemporary Incoming Queue (IQ₁ 512→IQ_(b) 514 in the diagram) forsubsequent processing. Processed artifacts are removed from anintermediate or temporary Outgoing Queue (OQ₁ 522→OQ_(c) 524 in thediagram) and then dispatched 504→506.

A dynamically updateable set of one or more Incoming Queues (IQ512→IQ_(b) 514 in the diagram) and a dynamically updateable set of oneor more Outgoing Queues (OQ₁ 522→OQ_(c) 524 in the diagram) operate asintermediate or temporary buffers for incoming 504→506 and outgoingtraffic 504→506.

A dynamically updateable set of one or more WorkFlows (WorkFlow₁516→WorkFlow_(d) 518 in the diagram) possibly inter alia remove incomingtraffic 504→506 from an intermediate or temporary Incoming Queue (IQ₁512→IQ_(b) 514 in the diagram), perform all of the required processingoperations, and deposit processed artifacts on an intermediate ortemporary Outgoing Queue (OQ₁ 522→OQ_(c) 524 in the diagram). TheWorkFlow component will be described more fully below.

The Database 520 that is depicted in FIG. 5 is a logical representationof the possibly multiple physical repositories that may be implementedto support, inter alia, configuration, profile, monitoring, alerting,etc. information. The physical repositories may be implemented throughany combination of conventional Relational Database Management Systems(RDBMSs) such as Oracle, through Object Database Management Systems(ODBMSs), through in-memory Database Management Systems (DBMSs), orthrough any other equivalent facilities.

An Administrator 526 that is depicted in FIG. 5 provides management oradministrative control over all of the different components of an AS 318through, as one example, a WWW-based interface 528. It will be readilyapparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art that numerousother interfaces (e.g., a data feed, an API, etc.) are easily possible.

Through flexible, extensible, and dynamically updatable configurationinformation a WorkFlow component may be quickly and easily realized tosupport any number of activities. For example, WorkFlows might beconfigured to support a registration process; to support interactionswith external entities; to support various internal processing steps (asdescribed above) including, possibly inter alia, (1) the evaluation ofreceived request messages, (2) the generation, preservation, etc. of aSFA token (through possibly inter alia application logic such as theillustrative source code snippet 602 presented in FIG. 6), and (3) thegeneration and dispatch of response messages; to support the validationof a supplied SFA token; to support the generation and dispatch ofconfirmation, etc. messages; to support various billing transactions; tosupport the generation of scheduled and/or on-demand reports; etc. Thespecific WorkFlows that were just described are exemplary only; it willbe readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art thatnumerous other WorkFlow arrangements, alternatives, etc. are easilypossible.

A SP may maintain a repository (e.g., a database) into which selecteddetails of all administrative, messaging, etc. activities may berecorded. Among other things, such a repository may be used to support:

1) Scheduled (e.g., daily, weekly, etc.) and/or on-demand reporting withreport results delivered through SMS, MMS, etc. messages; throughE-Mail; through a WWW-based facility; etc.

2) Scheduled and/or on-demand data mining initiatives (possiblyleveraging or otherwise incorporating one or more external data sources)with the results of same presented through Geographic InformationSystems (GISs), visualization, etc. facilities and delivered throughSMS, MMS, etc. messages; through E-Mail; through a WWW-based facility;etc.

Various aspects of the present invention can be implemented by software,firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof. FIG. 7 illustrates anexample computer system 700 in which the present invention, or portionsthereof, can be implemented as computer-readable code. Variousembodiments of the invention are described in terms of this examplecomputer system 700. After reading this description, it will becomeapparent to a person skilled in the relevant art how to implement theinvention using other computer systems and/or computer architectures.

Computer system 700 includes one or more processors, such as processor704, Processor 704 can be a special purpose processor or a generalpurpose processor. Processor 704 is connected to a communicationinfrastructure 702 (for example, a bus or a network).

Computer system 700 also includes a main memory 706, preferably RandomAccess Memory (RAM), containing possibly inter alia computer softwareand/or data 708.

Computer system 700 may also include a secondary memory 710. Secondarymemory 710 may include, for example, a hard disk drive 712, a removablestorage drive 714, a memory stick, etc. A removable storage drive 714may comprise a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, an optical diskdrive, a flash memory, or the like. A removable storage drive 714 readsfrom and/or writes to a removable storage unit 716 in a well knownmanner. A removable storage unit 716 may comprise a floppy disk,magnetic tape, optical disk, etc. which is read by and written to byremovable storage drive 714. As will be appreciated by persons skilledin the relevant art(s) removable storage unit 716 includes a computerusable storage medium 718 having stored therein possibly inter aliacomputer software and/or data 720.

In alternative implementations, secondary memory 710 may include othersimilar means for allowing computer programs or other instructions to beloaded into computer system 700. Such means may include, for example, aremovable storage unit 724 and an interface 722. Examples of such meansmay include a program cartridge and cartridge interface (such as thatfound in video game devices), a removable memory chip (such as anErasable Programmable Read-Only Memory [EPROM], or ProgrammableRead-Only Memory [PROM]) and associated socket, and other removablestorage units 724 and interfaces 722 which allow software and data to betransferred from the removable storage unit 724 to computer system 700.

Computer system 700 may also include an input interface 726 and a rangeof input devices 728 such as, possibly inter alia, a keyboard, a mouse,etc.

Computer system 700 may also include an output interface 730 and a rangeof output devices 732 such as, possibly inter alia, a display, one ormore speakers, etc.

Computer system 700 may also include a communications interface 734.Communications interface 734 allows software and/or data 738 to betransferred between computer system 700 and external devices.Communications interface 734 may include a modem, a network interface(such as an Ethernet card), a communications port, a Personal ComputerMemory Card International Association (PCMCIA) slot and card, or thelike. Software and/or data 738 transferred via communications interface734 are in the form of signals 736 which may be electronic,electromagnetic, optical, or other signals capable of being received bycommunications interface 734. These signals 736 are provided tocommunications interface 734 via a communications path 740.Communications path 740 carries signals and may be implemented usingwire or cable, fiber optics, a phone line, a cellular phone link, aRadio Frequency (RF) link or other communications channels.

As used in this document, the terms “computer program medium,” “computerusable medium,” and “computer readable medium” generally refer to mediasuch as removable storage unit 716, removable storage unit 724, and ahard disk installed in hard disk drive 712. Signals carried overcommunications path 740 can also embody the logic described herein.Computer program medium and computer usable medium can also refer tomemories, such as main memory 706 and secondary memory 710, which can bememory semiconductors (e.g. Dynamic Random Access Memory [DRAM]elements, etc.). These computer program products are means for providingsoftware to computer system 700.

Computer programs (also called computer control logic) are stored inmain memory 706 and/or secondary memory 710. Computer programs may alsobe received via communications interface 734. Such computer programs,when executed, enable computer system 700 to implement the presentinvention as discussed herein. In particular, the computer programs,when executed, enable processor 704 to implement the processes ofaspects of the present invention, such as the steps discussed above.Accordingly, such computer programs represent controllers of thecomputer system 700. Where the invention is implemented using software,the software may be stored in a computer program product and loaded intocomputer system 700 using removable storage drive 714, interface 722,hard drive 712 or communications interface 734.

The invention is also directed to computer program products comprisingsoftware stored on any computer useable medium. Such software, whenexecuted in one or more data processing devices, causes data processingdevice(s) to operate as described herein. Embodiments of the inventionemploy any computer useable or readable medium, known now or in thefuture. Examples of computer useable mediums include, but are notlimited to, primary storage devices (e.g., any type of random accessmemory), secondary storage devices (e.g., hard drives, floppy disks,Compact Disc Read-Only Memory [CD-ROM] disks, Zip disks, tapes, magneticstorage devices, optical storage devices, Microelectromechanical Systems[MEMS], nanotechnological storage device, etc.), and communicationmediums (e.g., wired and wireless communications networks, local areanetworks, wide area networks, intranets, etc.).

It is important to note that while aspects of the discussion that waspresented above referenced the use of SCs and TNs it will be readilyapparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art that other addressidentifiers (such as, for example, Session Initiation Protocol [SIP]Address, Uniform Resource Locator [URL], etc.) are equally applicableand, indeed, are fully within the scope of the present invention.

The discussion that was just presented referenced two specific wirelessmessaging paradigms—SMS and MMS. Those paradigms potentially offer anincremental advantage over other paradigms in that native support forSMS and/or MMS is commonly found on a WD that a potential MS would becarrying. However, it is to be understood that it would be readilyapparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art that numerousother paradigms (such as, for example, Internet Protocol [IP] MultimediaSubsystem [IMS], IM, E-Mail, Wireless Application Protocol [WAP], etc.)are fully within the scope of the present invention.

It is important to note that the hypothetical example that was presentedabove, which was described in the narrative and which was illustrated inthe accompanying figures, is exemplary only. It is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the invention to the specific forms disclosed. Itwill be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant artthat numerous alternatives to the presented example are easily possibleand, indeed, are fully within the scope of the present invention.

The following acronyms are employed in this disclosure:

Acronym Meaning API Application Programming Interface AS ApplicationServer BI Billing Interface CD-ROM Compact Disc Read-Only Memory CIMDComputer Interface to Message Distribution CIMIP Center for IdentityManagement and Information Protection CSC Common Short Code DBMSDatabase Management System DRAM Dynamic Random Access Memory E-MailElectronic Mail EMI External Machine Interface EPROM ErasableProgrammable Read-Only Memory GIS Geographic Information System GPSGlobal Positioning System GW Gateway IM Instant Messaging IMS IPMultimedia Subsystem IP Internet Protocol IQ Incoming Queue IR InfraredIVR Interactive Voice Response LBS Location-Based Service MAP MobileApplication Part MEMS Microelectromechanical Systems MICV MessagingInter-Carrier Vendor MMS Multimedia Message Service MS Mobile SubscriberNFC Near Field Communication ODBMS Object Database Management System OQOutgoing Queue PC Personal Computer PCMCIA Personal Computer Memory CardInternational Association PROM Programmable Read-Only Memory RAM RandomAccess Memory RDBMS Relational Database Management System RF RadioFrequency SC Short Code SFA Second Factor Authentication SIP SessionInitiation Protocol SMPP Short Message Peer-to-Peer SMS Short MessageService SP Service Provider SS7 Signaling System Seven 3P Third Party TNTelephone Number UCP Universal Computer Protocol URL Uniform ResourceLocator USB Universal Serial Bus WAP Wireless Application Protocol WCWireless Carrier WD Wireless Device WF WorkFlow WS Web Server WWWWorld-Wide Web XML Extensible Markup Language

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of enhanced communication, the methodcomprising: receiving a request for second factor authentication (SFA)generation from a third party, wherein the request comprises informationregarding a user and a desired characteristic of the SFA; generating anSFA token based on at least the received information regarding the userand the desired characteristic of the SFA; associating the SFA tokenwith an identifier of the user in a repository; sending the generatedSFA token towards a device associated with the user; receiving either:a) a request for SFA validation from the third party, wherein therequest comprises information regarding the user and the SFA token, orb) a response from the device associated with the user, wherein theresponse comprises information regarding the user and the SFA token;performing one or more processing steps to validate the SFA tokenyielding at least an indicia of validation; and sending the indicia ofvalidation to the third party; wherein at least one of the receiving,generating, associating, sending, and performing is accomplished usingone or more computers.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the SFA tokencomprises a sequence of one or more letters, numbers, and specialcharacters.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the SFA token isdesignated as being single use or multi-use.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the SFA token comprises a lifetime indicator.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the one or more processing steps to validate the SFAtoken considers information on a current physical location of thedevice.
 6. A system for enhanced communication, the system comprising: amemory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory and configuredto receive a request for second factor authentication (SFA) generationfrom a third party, wherein the request comprises information regardinga user and a desired characteristic of the SFA; a first workflowcomponent executing in the processor and configured to generate an SFAtoken based on the information regarding the user and the desiredcharacteristic of the SFA; a repository configured to associate the SFAtoken with an identifier of the user; and a second workflow componentexecuting in the processor and configured to validate the SFA tokenyielding at least an indicia of validation; wherein the processor isfurther configured to: send the SFA token towards a device associatedwith the user, receive either (a) a request for SFA validation from thethird party, wherein the request comprises information regarding theuser and the SFA token, or (b) a response from the device associatedwith the user, wherein the response comprises information regarding theuser and the SFA token, and send the indicia of validation to the thirdparty.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the SFA token comprises asequence of one or more letters, numbers, and special characters.
 8. Thesystem claim 6, wherein the SFA token is designated as being single useor multi-use.
 9. The system of claim 6, wherein the SFA. token comprisesa lifetime indicator.
 10. The system of claim 6, wherein the secondworkflow component processes information on a current physical locationof the device.
 11. A non-transitory computer readable medium containingcomputer instructions that, when executed by one or more processors,cause the one or more processors to take actions, comprising: receivinga request for second factor authentication (SFA) generation from a thirdparty, wherein the request comprises information regarding a user and adesired characteristic of the SFA; generating an SFA token based on atleast the received information regarding the user and the desiredcharacteristic of the SFA; associating the SFA token with an identifierof the user in a repository; sending the generated SFA token towards adevice associated with the user; receiving either: a) a request for SFAvalidation from the third party, wherein the request comprisesinformation regarding the user and the SFA token, or b) a response fromthe device associated with the user, wherein the response comprisesinformation regarding the user and the SFA token; performing one or moreprocessing steps to validate the SFA token yielding at least an indiciaof validation; and sending the indicia of validation to the third party;wherein at least one of the receiving, generating, associating, sending,and performing is accomplished using one or more computers.
 12. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the SFAtoken comprises a sequence of one or more letters, numbers, and specialcharacters.
 13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11,wherein the SFA token is designated as being single use or multi-use.14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein theSFA token comprises a lifetime indicator.
 15. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the one or more processingsteps to validate the SFA token considers information on a currentphysical location of the device.